The Irish Cultural Center, in cooperation with Elms Colleges, is pleased to announce that several Irish Language courses will be offered in the fall semester beginning on September 5. We are fortunate that, for the third year in a row, an Irish Language Fulbright Teacher, Ciara Cosgrove, will play a key role in the offerings. The other teachers are Tom Moriarty and Chip Costello.

Ciara Cosgrove will teach a three-credit course, Novice Irish Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11:30 am to 12:20 pm from September 5 - December 14, 2012. To enroll, visit the registrar’s office or call 413-265-2314. Those who wish to audit the course pay half the tuition: for people 65 or older the cost is $100, plus a $20 registration fee.

She will also teach the Intermediate: Advanced Practice Irish Language course on Wednesday evenings from 6:40 - 9:10 pm from September 5 - December 12, 2012. The course will be offered either for three credits or on a non-credit basis through the Division of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education. This course is designed for students who have studied the language for at least a year and who wish additional opportunities to practice and develop their ability in the language. To enroll for credit, visit the registrar’s office or call 413-265-2314. To enroll for non-credit, visit the Division of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education or call 413 265-2490. Cost is $175. ICC members receive a $50 discount.

We will offer two Introduction to Irish Language courses. Tom Moriarty will teach on Tuesday evenings from 6:45-8:45 from September 11 - December 4, 2012 and Chip Costello will teach on Saturday from 9-11 am. Both offerings are focused on all four language skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening in an interactive enjoyable experience for those with little or no prior study of the language. To register, call the Division of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education at (413) 265-2490. Cost: $150. ICC members receive a $50 discount.

A CountyMonaghan native, Ciara Cosgrove received her BA in Education in Irish and her MA in Irish Language/Literature from St. Patrick’s College in Dublin. For the past four years, she has taught in an Irish medium primary school in Dublin that practices Immersion Education.

In her application for a Fulbright, she wrote of “the hope of sharing Irish with a new and exciting adult group. It would be a pleasure to contribute to a Foreign Language department in an American university in any way and I know that I have the training, skills and flexibility to become an asset to the department as well as an asset to the Irish Language abroad.”

For further information, call the IrishCulturalCenter at 413-265-2537, or Tom Moriarty at 413-592-6951. The Irish Cultural Center at Elms College offers programs in art, music, literature that promote the Irish language in order to “keep the Irish arts alive.”

Elms College is a co-educational, Catholic college offering a liberal arts curriculum that gives students multiple perspectives on life. Founded in 1928 by the Sisters of St. Joseph, Elms College has a tradition of educating reflective, principled, and creative learners, who are rooted in faith, educated in mind, compassionate in heart, responsive to civic and social obligations, and capable of adjusting to change without compromising principle.